


Fatherly Footwork

by Kiiratam



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23998141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: Blake finds Ruby to ask her about Mr. Xiao Long.Takes place the day before the start of Volume 6. (My BMBLB fic index)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 15
Kudos: 96





	Fatherly Footwork

"So, um, Ruby?" There was a non-awkward way to ask this, Blake was sure. This wasn't it. But Ruby had already looked up from Crescent Rose, and Blake was committed to whatever way spilled out of her mouth. "I have a question."

  
"Sure!"

  
"It's not really relevant to our trip, or training, or anything." Everyone else was packing for tomorrow's train ride, or goofing off, or - if you were Ren - meditating. But Ruby was just sitting on the back steps, doing weapon maintenance.

  
Ruby beamed at her. "Oh, a distraction question! Before you ask, no, I don't know why the chicken crossed the road, but I do have some theories."

  
"Oh, um. Not quite like that." 

  
And Ruby looked like she was about to say something, but very consciously stopped herself. Everyone had been acting a little oddly since Blake had joined up with them at Haven - but she'd also been gone. Quiet Yang, nice Weiss, thoughtful Ruby - maybe these were normal now. Blake didn't know.

  
_Stop. You're back. They're still your friends. Things have changed, but you're all still friends._

  
Blake cleared her throat and just asked her question. "So what is your dad like?"

  
"Oh." Ruby glanced down at her feet and came back with a little smile. "I mean, I wouldn't say that's not relevant. I mean, he always says Footwork Is Foundational - just like that, with Capital Letters. It's one of the reasons Yang has been kicking my butt. She was always better at footwork."

  
Perching on the edge of the steps, Blake said, "You _are_ fighting on her terms in all the unarmed training. That's not a good way to win."

  
"Yeah, I know. But is there really a _good_ way to fight Yang? How do you deal with her Semblance?"

  
There was an awkward moment of silence. Blake clamped down on her thoughts - _breathe in, hold it, breath out_ \- and Ruby caught up.

  
"Ummmm, how has unarmed training been going between you two? We keep running out of time in team practice, but you really do need to practice that, so it's a good thing you're spending time on it in individual practice. I mean, I hope you are?"

  
They _were_ practicing unarmed combat, but it probably wasn't what Ruby was thinking of. They weren't squaring up and throwing punches at each other, like Yang was doing with everyone else. Instead, without even talking about it, they'd gone back to what they'd been doing at Beacon. Training with each other's weapons. So Yang would show Blake a punch, or a kata, and drill her in that, and then the counter to that punch, and then the counter to the counter... And the next day, they'd do the same thing, only with Gambol Shroud instead of Ember Celica, and Blake teaching. Just like Beacon. Just like normal. _But Yang had to dig the right half of Ember Celica out of her pack when they'd started, and_ -

  
"It's been going fine." Blake tried to steer Ruby back on topic. "I think I'm having a similar problem to you. Your dad's not big on acrobatics, is he?"

  
"Oh yeah, no. He always teased Uncle Qrow about all the spinning - apparently Qrow threw up one time during a fight because of all the spinning, and Dad never let him forget about it - and I got, like, the super basics from Dad, but Qrow taught me most of my style, so then _I_ got teased about the spinning. Which I'm not sure is really fair because I can kind of sort of not really fly with my Semblance, so I've got mobility options that Yang and Dad and even Qrow doesn't." Ruby took a breath. "Right, you asked about Dad. Um, I don't know? He's... dad-shaped?"

  
"....Like Professor Port?"

  
"Well, maybe a little bit, because he would always help me eat cookies, and he's only got Zwei to share them with now, and I don't know if he's really adjusted to making single batches yet. But, um, more like-" Ruby waved her hands vaguely. "He's the dadliest dad I know? I mean, he grills, he mostly fixes stuff, he and Zwei are best buds, he put our art up on the fridge...you know, dad things." She paused. "I mean, not that your dad isn't dad-ly. I bet you had a lot of fun using him as a jungle gym when you were a kid!"

  
Blake had. And he gave really comforting hugs, that you could just collapse into, and feel like everything was going to be okay -

  
Except she'd run away from that, and Yang also gave hugs like that, but Blake couldn't help but be conscious of the new arm, and how everything hadn't been okay, and -

  
She sniffled, and started to do her breathing trick, and felt Ruby slide over and give her a hug. Blake leaned her head against Ruby's.

  
"Umm, sorry, Blake. I forgot that - well, I mean - you can invite them to the station tomorrow? Or go eat with them tonight? Again, I mean, since we just had dinner with them."

  
Ruby wasn't really right about the details, but she cared, and she was trying to help. Was helping. And Blake should call her parents, at least, before they left. "They're really busy."

  
Scoffing, Ruby said, "Your parents are awesome! They'll make time."

  
Blake nodded. They would, if she asked. But if she went to dinner with them, her mother would ask if Yang wanted to come, and Blake - didn't want to push Yang. So here she was instead. Asking about Ruby and Yang's dad, wondering if he would like her. Because if Mr. Xiao Long liked her, or didn't like her, Blake would have something else to talk to Yang about. Or Blake just wanted to know more about Yang's dad, and put that together with what Yang and Weiss had told everyone about Raven, and try to-

  
She didn't really know what. Understand where Yang had come from? Put in the work to comprehend Yang's emotional state? Convince herself that if Ruby liked her, and Zwei liked her, and Mr. Xiao Long liked her, then Yang must still like her?

  
Ruby broke the hug, but stayed close. "And if you don't want to, we can all watch a movie tonight or something. Or play a game. How do you feel about Go Fish?"

  
"Sounds like fun."

  
_I'm back. Ruby's still my friend. Weiss is still my friend. Yang is still my friend. I can go slow for Yang. She went slow for me, and I owe her. For that, and... everything else._

  
"Hey, Ruby, I'll be right back. I need to get my cleaning kit."

  
"Woo, weapon maintenance party! What kind of music do you want?"


End file.
